Adverse Physical and Mental Health Effects of the Deepwater Horizon Oil Spill Among Gulf Coast Children: An Environmental Justice Perspective

AbstractIntroductionPrevious oil spills and disasters from other human-made events have shown that mental health effects to the affected population are widespread and can be significant.Hypothesis/ProblemThere has been concern regarding the likelihood that existing public health surveillance was not capturing the mental health effects to the population affected by the Gulf Coast oil spill. The objectives of this study were to assess the mental health needs of coastal communities in the states of Alabama and Mississippi following the Deepwater Horizon oil spill.MethodsA cluster sampling methodology was used to assess the mental health status of coastal residents in three counties in Alabama four months following the 2010 Deepwater Horizon oil spill, and in the Gulf Coast counties in Mississippi 5.5 months after the oil spill.ResultsA total of 469 residents of the selected areas were interviewed. Between 15.4 and 24.5% of the respondents reported depressive symptoms, with 21.4-31.5% reporting symptoms consistent with an anxiety disorder, and 16.3-22.8% reporting ≥14 mentally unhealthy days within the past 30 days. Overall, there were more negative quality of life indicators and negative social context outcomes than in the state's Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System (BRFSS) survey. Between 32.1% and 35.7% of all households reported decreased income since the oil spill, and 35.5-38.2% of all households reported having been exposed to oil.ConclusionThe proportion of respondents reporting negative mental health parameters in the affected Alabama and Mississippi coastal communities is higher than the proportion reported in the 2008 and 2009 BRFSS state reports, suggesting that the public health response to the Deepwater Horizon oil spill should focus on mental health services in these communities.ButtkeD, VagiS, BayleyegnT, SircarK, StrineT, MorrisonM, AllenM, WolkinA. Mental health needs assessment after the Gulf Coast oil spill—Alabama and Mississippi, 2010. Prehosp Disaster Med.2012;27(5):1-8.

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Mental Health Effects Associated with the 2010 Deepwater Horizon Oil-Spill

Annals of Epidemiology ◽

10.1016/j.annepidem.2017.07.117 ◽

2017 ◽

Vol 27 (8) ◽

pp. 515

Author(s):

Richard K. Kwok ◽

Sarah R. Lowe ◽

Lawrence S. Engel ◽

John A. McGrath ◽

W. Braxton Jackson ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Mental Health ◽

Health Effects ◽

Oil Spill ◽

Deepwater Horizon ◽

Deepwater Horizon Oil Spill ◽

Mental Health Effects

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Deepwater Horizon Oil Spill: Mental Health Effects on Residents in Heavily Affected Areas

Disaster Medicine and Public Health Preparedness ◽

10.1001/dmp.2011.85 ◽

2011 ◽

Vol 5 (4) ◽

pp. 280-286 ◽

Cited By ~ 73

Author(s):

Howard J. Osofsky ◽

Joy D. Osofsky ◽

Tonya C. Hansel

Keyword(s):

Mental Health ◽

Health Outcomes ◽

Hurricane Katrina ◽

Health Effects ◽

Oil Spill ◽

Social Engagement ◽

Deepwater Horizon ◽

Mental Health Outcomes ◽

Deepwater Horizon Oil Spill ◽

Mental Health Effects

ABSTRACTBackground: Mental health issues are a significant concern after disasters such as the Deepwater Horizon oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico in 2010. This study was designed to assess the mental health effects on residents of areas of southeastern Louisiana affected by the oil spill.Methods: Telephone and face-to-face interviews were conducted with residents (N = 452) assessing concerns and direct impact.Results: The results show that the greatest effect on mental health related to the extent of disruption to participants' lives, work, family, and social engagement, with increased symptoms of anxiety, depression, and posttraumatic stress. Given the location of the oil spill affecting communities that had been devastated by Hurricane Katrina, results also revealed that losses from Hurricane Katrina were highly associated with negative mental health outcomes. Conversely, the ability to rebound after adversity and place satisfaction were highly associated with better mental health outcomes.Conclusions: Enhanced understanding of mental health effects after the Deepwater Horizon oil spill will help in determining directions for much-needed mental health services after the disaster and in contributing to the knowledge of complex traumatization and the ability to rebound after adversity.(Disaster Med Public Health Preparedness. 2011;5:280–286)

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The Deepwater Horizon Oil Spill and the Mississippi Gulf Coast: Mental health in the context of a technological disaster.

American Journal of Orthopsychiatry ◽

10.1037/h0099382 ◽

2014 ◽

Vol 84 (2) ◽

pp. 142-151 ◽

Cited By ~ 33

Author(s):

Christopher F. Drescher ◽

Stefan E. Schulenberg ◽

C. Veronica Smith

Keyword(s):

Mental Health ◽

Oil Spill ◽

Gulf Coast ◽

Deepwater Horizon ◽

Technological Disaster ◽

Deepwater Horizon Oil Spill ◽

Mississippi Gulf Coast

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A Longitudinal Study of the Mental and Behavioral Health Effects Expressed in Lower Alabama Areas Affected by the Deepwater Horizon Oil Spill

International Oil Spill Conference Proceedings ◽

10.7901/2169-3358-2014-1-300245.1 ◽

2014 ◽

Vol 2014 (1) ◽

pp. 300245 ◽

Cited By ~ 1

Author(s):

Jennifer Langhinrichsen-Rohling ◽

Mattie Kahn ◽

Candice N. Selwyn ◽

Adrianne C. McCullars ◽

Mai Var ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Health Care ◽

Behavioral Health ◽

Health Effects ◽

Oil Spill ◽

Gulf Coast ◽

Deepwater Horizon ◽

Symptom Expression ◽

Deepwater Horizon Oil Spill ◽

Health Symptoms ◽

Over Time

On April 20th, 2010, the Deepwater Horizon oil spill occurred in the Gulf of Mexico. This spill affected approximately 181 miles of Gulf Coast shoreline and impacted the livelihood of residents within Lower Alabama. Previous studies have shown increased behavioral health symptoms following high magnitude natural disasters. Symptom expression typically adheres to one of several trajectories: recovery, evidenced by gradual declines in symptoms over time, or delayed disruptions in functioning, evidenced by gradual increases in symptoms over time. However, very few existing studies have investigated the long term behavioral health effects of a large-scale technological disaster. Surveillance of mental and behavioral health symptoms over time can inform needed resiliency-restoring and recovery-related service provision resources. Using health surveillance methodology, plots were developed to depict the trajectory of behavioral health symptoms expressed by service-seeking Alabama Gulf Coast residents (n = 3,731 people) within impacted areas of Mobile and Baldwin counties. The presented data represents information gathered from disaster- deployed mental health service providers (e.g., number of patients treated and their behavioral health symptoms) in order to monitor fluctuations in behavioral health indicators across the recovery period. Six distinct time points were included in the analyses (6, 12, 18, 24, 30, and 36 months post-spill) Results demonstrate a period of recovery between 6 months and 18 months post-spill as evidenced by a gradual decline in behavioral health symptoms. However, beginning around 18 months post-spill and continuing through Year 3, delayed disruptions in functioning were evidenced by gradually increasing reports of behavioral health symptoms over time. Plots of symptom type and frequency will be presented as these demonstrate the need for programs such as the Gulf Region Health Outreach Program (GRHOP).Overall, the current study offers insight into the pattern of behavioral health responses experienced by Coastal Alabama residents over the three year period following the Deepwater Horizon oil spill. Results suggest that behavioral health symptoms in need of treatment still persist, with a trend of increasing symptoms present over the past year and a half. Several factors may be impacting continued symptom expression including ongoing litigation related to the oil spill, a lack of behavioral health care capacity within the Gulf Coast region, and the large percentage of individuals within the region who are experiencing on-going poverty and a lack of access to affordable health care.

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Coping with oil spills: oil exposure and anxiety among residents of Gulf Coast states after the Deepwater Horizon oil spill

10.14324/111.444/000072.v1 ◽

2021 ◽

Author(s):

Zachary Goldman ◽

John A. Kaufman ◽

J. Danielle Sharpe ◽

Amy F. Wolkin ◽

Matthew O. Gribble

Keyword(s):

Oil Spill ◽

Emotional Support ◽

Gulf Coast ◽

Deepwater Horizon ◽

Tobit Regression ◽

Deepwater Horizon Oil Spill ◽

Cross Sectional Survey ◽

Cross Sectional ◽

Drilling Rig ◽

Oil Exposure

Introduction: In April 2010, a fatal explosion on the Deepwater Horizon drilling rig in the Gulf of Mexico resulted in the largest accidental marine oil spill in history. This research describes the association of oil exposure with anxiety after the Deepwater Horizon oil spill and evaluates effect modification by self-mastery, emotional support, and cleanup participation. Methods: To assess the impacts of the Deepwater Horizon oil spill, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention conducted the Gulf States Population Survey, a random-digit-dial telephone cross-sectional survey completed between December 2010 and December 2011 with 38,361 responses in four different Gulf Coast states: Louisiana, Florida, Alabama, and Mississippi. Anxiety severity was measured using the Generalized Anxiety Disorder symptom inventory. We used Tobit regression to model underlying anxiety as a function of oil exposure and hypothesized effect modifiers, adjusting for socio-demographics. Results: Latent anxiety was higher among those directly exposed to oil than among those who were not directly exposed to oil in confounder-adjusted models (β=2.84, 95% CI: 0.78, 4.91). Among individuals exposed to oil, there was no significant interaction between participating in cleanup activities and emotional support for anxiety ( P=0.16). However, among those directly exposed to oil, in confounder-adjusted models, participation in oil spill cleanup activities was associated with lower latent anxiety (β=-3.50, 95% CI: -6.10, -0.90). Conclusion: Oil contact was associated with greater anxiety, but this association appeared to be mitigated by cleanup participation.

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